Lawn mowers are known in the art. For example, stand-on mowers are discussed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,138,446, 6,390,225, 6,189,304, 6,438,930, 6,658,831, 6,560,952, 7,428,884 and 5,964,082, the disclosures of all of which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference. Example walk-behind lawn mowers are discussed in U.S. Patent Document 2005/0126146 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,920,733, the disclosures of which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference. Example mower operable by seated occupants are discussed in U.S. Patent Documents 2001/0001170, 2002/0059788, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,438,930, 6,658,831, and 6,560,952, the disclosures of which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference.
FIGS. 1-4 illustrates different features of an example commercial mower, found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,138,446. The mower includes cutter deck 1, engine deck 3, a pair of front castor wheels 5, a pair of rear drive wheels 7, thigh pad 13 for permitting the operator to rest his/her thighs thereon during operation, support assembly 15 extending upwardly at an angle from engine deck 3 so as to support thigh pad 13 and handle control assembly 11, combustion engine 9, and operator support platform structure 18 which includes pivotal platform sheet 234 for supporting feet of an operator during mower operation. The handle control assembly 11 includes rigid handle bar 10 fixedly attached to supports 15, reverse control levers 17, and forward control levers 19. Control levers 17 and 19 are pivotally affixed to supports 15 about axis 21 so that the standing operator can control the steering of the mower via the rear drive wheels 7 by pivoting levers 17 and/or 19 during operation. The mower is of the zero radius turning type in certain example embodiments, with the wheels being hydraulically driven. When the mower is driven forward, it travels forward in travel direction TD when cutting grass.
Hydraulically driven (i.e., hydrostatically controlled) mowers often include a pair of drive wheels, each of which is independently operated by a hydraulic (i.e., hydrostatic) pump coupled to the mower's engine. A corresponding motor may be provided for each drive wheel, each motor being powered and controlled by one of the hydro pumps. Each pump typically includes a control lever for regulating fluid pressure and direction to its corresponding motor so that the drive wheels can be independently controlled so that each may be rotated at variable speeds in both forward and reverse directions. In this manner, the mower may be steered by controlling the speed and direction of the two drive wheels, and may be referred to as a zero radius turning mower. Zero radius turns are typically performed when the two drive wheels are operated at approximately the same speed but in opposite directions so that the mower pivots or turns about a vertical axis extending upwardly from a location between the drive wheels. In the FIG. 1-4 mower, the hydraulically controlled drive wheels 7 are considered rear drive wheels.
FIG. 2 illustrates standing platform supporting structure (with certain exceptions such as support sheet 234) shown generally by reference numeral 18. The supporting structure 18 includes support sheet 234 for supporting an operator's feet during mower operation, sidewalls 151 for isolating the operator's feet from the drive wheels 7 and their motors, vertical surface 153, elongated annular bar 155 welded to the platform structure so as to give structure for wheel motor brackets 157 on both sides of the platform, a pair of motor brackets 157, rigid channel shaped member 159 disposed between sidewalls 151, a rest 160 for the front of the standing platform, handlebar upright base members 163, via holes 165 for attachment purposes, support surface 164, and mounting holes 169 provided on each sidewall for permitting wheel motor brackets 157 to be affixed to the sidewalls.
FIGS. 3(a)-3(b) illustrate the handle bar support assembly and other items from the rear of the prior art mower. The assembly includes sheet metal supports 15 on either side of the mower, central bends 23 in supports 15, dash panel 27, pivots 63, bend sections 143 at the bottom areas of supports 15 for bolting supports 15 to the engine deck, cutter deck 1, operator foot platform 18, rear drive wheels 7, and platform sidewalls 151.
FIG. 4 illustrates the cutter deck 1 and a deck belt cover 331 (including wall 340) for resting thereon. The entire structure shown in FIG. 4 may be considered part of the cutter deck or cutter deck assembly. The cutter deck 1 in this non-limiting example instance includes top deck surface 602, wall 191 which extends from upper surface 602 of the cutter deck for housing pulleys and the like, vertical housing wall 181 located around the periphery of the cutter deck (mower deck), cutting blades (not shown in FIG. 4) located beneath top surface 602, cover 331 which rests on post members 332 and caps 333 when knobs 334 are tightened down, threaded studs 335 attached into idler pivot pin 336 in order to align cover 331 and knobs 334, and idler arms 339 which rotate on pins 336. The tops of idler pivots pins 336 may be slightly lower in elevation than the tops of caps 333.
FIGS. 1-4 have been provided to illustrate general components of an example non-limiting lawn mower. Further details of the structure shown in FIGS. 1-4 may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,138,446, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
While the aforesaid lawn mowers are desirable for many uses, they can also be improved in certain respects such as with respect to improving cutting performance.